After receiving the Jiangning Newspaper and Gao Zongting's secret letter, it was found that it had been two days and one night since Emperor Yongxing left Jiangning late at night on the 25th. Lin Fu immediately ordered the troops to rest on the spot and sent people to summon Ao Canghai. General Zhou Tong came to discuss the matter.
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Liyang and Jinshan fell on the 24th, and the right-wing troops of the Zhejiang and Fujian armies had gathered in Liyang and the upper reaches of the Rouge River before the 21st. After Emperor Yongxing left Jiangning, the city fell into unstoppable turmoil.
At this time, the Zhejiang and Fujian Army should have about 40,000 troops rushing to Jiangning City, and its left wing is shrinking towards Liyang. The intention is very clear. While ensuring that Jiangning and Huizhou shield the right wing, it will also delay the main force of the Huaidong Army to move north.
Advance speed.
"My troops are at the forefront. Zhang Jiheng has been raising fat in Changxing for several days. Sir, let us advance to Liyang!" Chen Zhi couldn't wait for Zhou Tong, Ao Canghai and others to come over, so he came over to ask for a fight.
The Huaidong generals had rehearsed the battle of Jiangning countless times, so there was nothing to discuss in the military meeting. They had been waiting for the main force of the Zhejiang and Fujian armies to be attracted to Jiangning City so that they could rush to the battle.
"It's different from what I imagined," Lin Fu said with a breath, "The emperor kicked his legs and ran too fast..."
When he first heard that Emperor Yongxing had abandoned Jiangning and fled on the 25th, Lin Fu was disdainful of him spouting dirty words.
Song Fuxiao, Xiao Yongxing Emperor destroyed his foundation.
When the North fell, Emperor Chongguan broke through and died on the battlefield, which saved some hearts for the imperial family. But this time Emperor Yongxing abandoned the capital and fled first. What else would he do if he didn't destroy his foundation? As long as there is no chaos in the south of the Yangtze River, especially to the east of Jiangning
Danyang and Pingjiang Prefecture were not affected by the war. What would happen even if Emperor Yongxing went to Huaixi?
After Huaidong regained Jiangning, it was natural to ask Emperor Yongxing to return the capital.
If Emperor Yongxing refused to return, or if Dong Yuan stopped him and refused to let go, Huaidong would arrogantly occupy Jiangning and not leave, worshiping Emperor Yongxing from afar. The imperial army was ruined, and only the remnants of the Hanghu army were left.
Emperor Xing abandoned the capital and left. Who among the gods can stop Huaidong from turning the land south of the Yangtze River into his own defense zone?
The generals all crawled up from the mountains of corpses and the sea of blood, and their tempers became iron-blooded and less tender. Emperor Yongxing abandoned the capital and fled westward, which would plunge millions of people in Jiangning into a huge disaster, and the generals had no time to take care of it.
, and will not take it into consideration. They only see the upcoming battle in their eyes, and they are very excited.
There are many mountains in Zhejiang and Fujian. The battles between Huaidong and Shejia were all fought in the mountains, so they were fragmented and there were few opportunities for field battles on the plains. There were mountains outside Jiangning, but the highest ones were no more than a hundred feet high, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses gathered there.
It's exciting to think about having a battle on such an open terrain.
Tang Fuguan, Chen Zhi and others still didn't know the She family's plan to escape the golden cicada, and they only hoped to arrive in Jiangning as early as possible.
Chen Huawen led his troops to accompany Huaibei Province and made two preparations.
First, the main force of the Hanghu Army led by Meng Yishan was destroyed, and Jiangning was weak and unable to resist the full penetration of Huaidong forces. On behalf of the Chen family, he abandoned the Wu Party and surrendered to Huaidong to ensure that the local interests of the Chen family were not affected.
Big damage.
However, even after the fall of Liyang, he still hoped in his heart that Emperor Yongxing, with the assistance of Prime Minister Chen, could inspire people and morale, and lead the tens of thousands of imperial troops, imperial guards and Jiangning government troops who stayed in Jiangning to fight.
After a beautiful city defense battle, Huaidong's ambitions were bound to be curbed. After the war, it was not difficult to force Huaidong's forces out of the Taihu prefectures and counties.
Who would have thought that Emperor Yongxing could run away so fast and be called a gentry in the south of the Yangtze River, so how could the people support the emperor?
When he heard the news that Emperor Yongxing had left the city and fled westward, Chen Huawen was filled with disappointment and frustration.
What is the use of Emperor Yongxing's visit to Huaixi? Can it also prevent Huaidong forces from fully penetrating into the Jiangnan region?
Song Jia was accompanying the Northern Expedition in a carriage. She sat in the carriage and listened to the news that Emperor Yongxing had abandoned the city and fled westward. She sighed to herself: These chestnuts are finally cooked.
Ao Canghai, Zhou Tong, Sun Wenyao and others who were following the army will arrive soon.
He couldn't wait to enter Deqing County to discuss matters, so he built a windshield with varnished cloth in the wild. Song Fu, Song Jia and his daughter, as well as the generals, including Chen Huawen and others, all gathered to discuss matters.
"The storm began to get stronger in the afternoon, which is a good thing. It means that the fields and roads will soon freeze solid after dark. Zhou Pu led the cavalry first, spreading out from the northern foot of Fuyu Mountain and the southern foot of Xiling to Guangde and Liyang.
Let's go. Tang Fuguan led his troops afterwards, carrying only three days of military rations and all the baggage, leaving it for the troops behind to receive it. The distance between your two troops should not exceed fifty miles, and make sure that there are no large groups of enemy soldiers within thirty miles of Tang Fuguan's headquarters.
Maybe! You have to try to make contact with the left-wing troops of the Zhejiang and Fujian Army retreating to Liyang before noon on the 29th. However, after reaching the Qianqiantang and Shahe areas on the outskirts of Liyang, you are not allowed to advance northward without authorization, waiting for further military orders..."
Chen Huawen was astonished. The Huaidong Army crossed the river from Xiaoshan and went north. It waited for four or five days and had not yet passed through Hangzhou. In the blink of an eye, Lin Fu asked the front troops to cover more than 200 miles in two nights and one day.
We arrived at the outskirts of Liyang.
The two thousand light cavalry led by Zhou Pu were all Lin Fu's followers and also Lin Fu's bodyguards.
However, there are 20,000 strong troops on the left wing of the Zhejiang and Fujian Army in Liyang. It is necessary to ensure that Tang Fuguan leads the front and rushes forward without leaving the left wing of the Zhejiang and Fujian Army to wait for an ambush. We can only use flexible opportunities to deploy the cavalry that is not easy to ambush.
Being at the front was the only way to ensure that the elite soldiers of Tang Fuguan's third brigade were always at a safe distance of thirty miles.
Even in the event of an ambush, the distance of thirty miles would allow Tang Fuguan plenty of time to rest and recuperate his troops and organize some simple defenses.
Tang Fuguan and Zhou Pu first led their troops into the outskirts of Liyang, so that they could test out the true intentions of the Zhejiang and Fujian troops' left-wing troops retreating to Liyang, and then find out Shewenzhuang's true thoughts about Jiangning City. Otherwise, everything would have to wait for the news to come from Jiangning, at least
There will be a delay of two days.
Two days is too long in a rapidly changing battlefield.
Chen Huawen never had the opportunity to observe the Huaidong Army up close. After meeting up with Lin Fu from Hangzhou, he headed north, and only spent two days with him day and night. In the past two days, he was trapped in the disrepair of the post road and the road was broken by melting snow, and he could only march less than 70 meters.
Here, I couldn't see anything different about the Huaidong Army.
After the military meeting, Song Jia took a carriage and was escorted by dozens of cavalry. He separated from the army and headed directly to the northeast. The rest of the soldiers and horses rested on the spot.
It was just dark, and under the howling north wind, the fields and roads gradually became frozen solid. The cavalry camp set off first, and groups of two or three hundred horsemen dispersed to the north, not walking in groups at all.
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Although the wheat field will be trampled severely, it is much faster to spread out than to travel in a group.
Cavalry walking in the wilderness at night is not a skill. After all, the Huaidong Army's hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses can cobble together three to five thousand of the strongest elites. It is not difficult at all.
Next, Tang Fuguan led his troops to go first. The stars and moon were dim, and the light could only be seen more than ten steps away. Only the front man of each team held a torch, and the middle and rear parts were hidden in the night. With such dim light, it was only possible to see
They moved forward in a man-to-man manner. However, Huaidong's generals did not panic. They had been well trained for this. In the quiet night, in addition to the sound of soldiers and armor clashing, the occasional voice of people talking was heard.
Words such as "Ditch, Pay Attention" are used to remind you to move forward.
The team of tens of thousands of people set off on the road almost within the time of burning an incense stick, disappearing into the vast night.
Next, Lin Fu personally led the main force of the Chongcheng army to set off, while 3,000 Haiyu troops stayed at the end, as well as the generals and commanders, who were also controlled by Ao Canghai in the rear formation. Chen Huawen set off with Lin Fu and the second echelon of troops.
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When the situation has developed to this point, Chen Huawen can only show greater sincerity and loyalty as much as possible. Chen Huawen wanted to lead the 3,000 Haiyu Army to the front to show more performance, but night marching was not the director of the Haiyu Army, so he could only
He stayed at the back, but if Chen Huawen stayed at the back, he was afraid that the people in Huaidong would suspect that he was playing tricks to preserve his strength. He simply separated the soldiers and gave Ao Canghai control of three thousand troops to show his sincerity.
The second echelon of soldiers and horses also moved forward with only a small amount of baggage. The baggage and ordnance abandoned by Tang Fuguan's troops on both sides of the post road, including a large number of shield carts, bed crossbows, and wheeled scorpion crossbows and other war equipment that affected the marching speed, were all left behind.
, leave it to Ao Canghai to send someone to receive it.
After a hurried and speechless night, before noon on the 28th, we arrived at the Meixi Crossing between Anji and Changxing. The army stopped at the mouth of Meixi to rest. In his early years, Lin Fu entered Meixi Lake and fought here with the Shu family's army who secretly defected to the She family.
Meixi Lake is the largest lake in central Huzhou. Meixi Lake, which is connected to Taihu Lake, is up to 100 feet wide at its narrowest point.
The post road extends here, and there used to be a nine-hole stone bridge connecting the two banks. After it collapsed in the early years, ferries have been used to cross the river.
However, after Zhang Jiheng led his troops to station in Changxing earlier, he had already built two pontoon bridges here. Tang Fuguan also rushed to cross Meixi River at sunrise early. At this time, he should have stopped forty miles away to rest.
Counting the time, Tang Fuguan's troops traveled one hundred thirty or forty miles in a little more than one night. This speed was really scary. If the sun hadn't risen and the temperature hadn't warmed up, the road would have been difficult to walk in the afternoon.
, Tang Fuguan's troops had to stop and rest, otherwise they would be able to enter Liyang tonight.
Chen Huawen couldn't help but wonder, if Meng Yishan had led the remnants of the Hanghu Army to stay in Liyang, would the Huaidong Army have been marching so fast and thunderously?
Even if the current situation in Jiangning is not entirely caused by Huaidong, it must be due to Huaidong.
Of course, before the fall of Liyang, the Zhejiang and Fujian Army was in Liyang, and there were more than 50,000 soldiers and horses on the Guangde front line. They were united together. It was far better to spread out at this time and give the Huaidong Army an opportunity to take advantage of it. That is, the left wing of the Zhejiang and Fujian Army took the initiative.
Attacking, entangling Tang Fuguan's troops who were tired from the rush, there was not enough time to annihilate them. However, if the left wing of the Zhejiang and Fujian troops were changed, and the center was at Liyang and Guangde, Tang Fuguan's troops would not be able to avoid big problems if they moved like this.
After Lin Fu arrived at Meixikou, the message he received came from Jiangning on the 26th.
It has been determined that on the 26th, the right wing and middle troops of the Zhejiang and Fujian troops were gathering towards Jiangning. However, the Huaidong water camp was affected by the siltation in the river, headwinds, and reverse currents, so it moved very slowly before entering the territory of Moling. Fortunately, Zhejiang and Fujian entered the territory of Moling.
The army did not have the conditions to storm Prison Island, but Gao Zongting and others led their troops to completely take over the imperial city.
The army stopped at Meixi Crossing to rest and recuperate. On the one hand, Lin Fu waited for further details about the situation in the direction of Jiangning. On the other hand, he waited for news from Zhou Pu and Tang Fuguan's troops on the front whether the left wing of the Zhejiang and Fujian troops would come out to engage in the battle.
In the afternoon, three warships sailed from the direction of Taihu Lake, and the masts of the ships were hoisted with Su Pinxiao's flag. Lin Fu was convinced, so he went to the ferry to greet him. Song Fu, Chen Huawen and others accompanied them.
In addition to Xiao, the eldest brother Chen Huazhang also stood on the bow.
Chen Huawen knew at this moment that the Chen family had no other choice, and his eldest brother had also rushed over to welcome the new master. If he really delayed making a choice until the Huaidong Army regained Jiangning City, the Chen family might not be able to reap the benefits.